Читать книгу Special Deliveries Collection - Kate Hardy - Страница 72

Brady knocked on Maggie’s door. He wanted to talk to Maggie alone.

The door opened and there she was. His mood lightened at the sight of her.

“Amber’s not due home for another thirty minutes from Penny’s.” Maggie had that stubborn tilt to her jaw, but now it made him want to smile. “If you are here for the internet—”

He stepped closer and kissed her. Her hands went to his shoulders as if she was going to push him away, but instead he felt her fingers grip tight to his shirt. He could spend days kissing Maggie and never get his fill. Thirty minutes suddenly didn’t seem like enough time.

Gently he guided her into the house with his body, because he was damned if he was going to stop kissing her if this was all he was going to get for a while. He closed the door with a kick. Like a starved man presented with food, he couldn’t help himself when it came to Maggie. She filled a need he hadn’t realized he had.

Her tongue lightly stroked his. Heat surged in his system. No other woman had this effect on him. Scary as it was, he didn’t want to leave her behind. If that took marrying her, he would do it. Whatever she needed to feel comfortable.

He lifted his lips from hers and touched her forehead with his. Their heavy breaths mingled in the small entryway. She clung to his shirt. He held her like a desperate man, hoping to never let go.

“Reconsider, Maggie.” He wanted to beg, to grovel, to worship her until she couldn’t think straight.

Her hazel eyes met his. The green sparkled in the light while the brown around her pupils pulled him into their depths. A touch of wistfulness filled her eyes. Her smile tugged at the little piece of hope he had left.

“You are persistent.”

“When I want something? Yes.” He didn’t step back. Wanted her to remember what it felt like to be with him. She said she loved him, but he was reluctant to use that as a bargaining chip.

“Why don’t we go inside and talk this through? We should be able to find a manageable solution.” Maggie pressed lightly against his shoulders.

He released her for the moment. “Manageable solution?”

She shrugged and took a seat at the dining room table, patting the chair next to her.

Time was against him in this negotiation. Maybe he should pull out all his big cards right away. He took the seat.

“I know you want us to move with you to New York.” She held up her hand to stop him from talking. “This town is the only home Amber and I have ever known. You aren’t asking us to move across the town but to another dimension.”

He raised his eyebrow. “Dimension?”

“I’ve been there. I’ve seen all those people so driven to get to the next spot that they are as likely to mow you down as go around you. That style might suit you, Brady. But it’s not who Amber and I are.” She folded her hands together on the table. “It’s not who I want Amber to become.”

“You would get used to it. We would be together. Isn’t that what family is about?” A low blow, but time was running short.

“Family is about finding what is best for everyone,” Maggie said softly.

“My being employed—isn’t that what’s best?” Brady stood. Energy bounced through his body, making it impossible to sit still. He paced the carpeted floor. “What I do for a living isn’t something I can do anywhere. I have to be in New York to be effective at my job. We don’t have to live in Manhattan. We could move to a suburb.”

“It’s not just the city. You are asking us to give up what we have here. You aren’t the only one who works. The furniture store lets me work flexible hours with Amber’s schedule. I have friends who love me. A community that looks out for us. You can’t offer that to us.” Maggie remained surprisingly calm.

Didn’t she realize what this meant? Didn’t she realize his plans now included her? What would make her change her mind? “Isn’t that what family is for? Isn’t that what love is about?”

Her expression clouded over as she stood. “You have no right to tell me about love.”

“Show me. Teach me what I need to know.” Brady didn’t want to leave like this. He wanted her to come with him.

She shook her head and backed away. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because it isn’t something you learn.” She hugged herself and leaned against the wall. “I wish I could help you, but you have to find it on your own.”

Brady moved in front of her and caressed her cheek. “Maggie, I have to leave. Today. I don’t want to go until I have your promise that you will consider the possibility of moving. Of making our family whole.”

“More promises?” Her eyes filled with tears. “What about your promise of time?”

“It’s unavoidable. My career is hanging on this project. I have to fix it.” Brady dropped his hand. A few days away from work and the whole project depended on one meeting. He couldn’t lose everything. he had to keep his career.

“Your career.” Her voice was flat, emotionless. But her eyes were a deeper shade of green than he’d ever seen them.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he said.

She shook her head. That hated pity came into her eyes. “When you figure it out, let me know.”

The door opened behind them.

“Daddy!” Amber tackle-hugged him from behind. “I’m glad you’re here.”

Maggie slipped away from him, but he couldn’t wash her image from his mind. Why couldn’t she understand?

Amber let go and rummaged through her backpack. He had to resolve this thing with Maggie. Amber deserved to have a family.

“How was school?” he asked. Maggie had disappeared, maybe to give him time to say goodbye to Amber or maybe to clear the tears. Eventually, she’d give in and come to him. He needed to give her more time to adjust to the idea.

“It was awesome.” Amber held out a piece of red paper. “We are having an art show this Thursday. Can we make this our special outing?”

Her eyes sparkled with hope and love. He loved Amber. It was natural. But he couldn’t reconcile what he felt for Maggie. Right now, the fact that he had to cancel Amber and his outing ripped his heart in two.

“I’m sorry, Amber.” He wished he didn’t have to ever say those words to her again. “I have to go to New York today.”

Her smile turned into a frown. “But you’ll be back.”

Needing to be eye to eye, he got on one knee in front of her. “It’s not that simple. I need to go back to work, but as soon as I get time off, I’ll be back.”

She sniffled and her lower lip trembled. He felt like the world’s biggest jerk.

“It’s okay, Daddy.” She put her arms around his neck. “I’ll miss you.”

That made him feel even lower, but he wrapped his arms around her tight. “I’ll miss you, too.”

She pulled away and smooshed his face in her hands. She placed a single kiss on his forehead. When she pulled away, he smiled at her.

“What was that for?”

“Nana says that when you love someone and they are going to leave you, you should kiss their forehead to seal you into their memory. Nana always kissed me right here before I went to sleep.” She pointed to a spot on her forehead.

“Your nana was a wise woman. I bet you miss her.”

Amber nodded. “But she’s right up here whenever I miss her too much.”

“Would it be okay if I kissed your forehead, too? That way you don’t forget about your daddy?” Tears welled in the back of Brady’s throat as she nodded yes and leaned her forehead forward.

He kissed her lightly next to the spot her nana always kissed her. “I’ll get back as soon as I can. I promise.”

“I’ll wait for you.” Amber grabbed her bag and ran into the kitchen.

Brady stood slowly. This house was home to two people he cared so much about. If only he could box it up and take it with him. Including the wobbly kitchen chair and the recliner it took a good shove to recline in. It was as unique as Maggie and Amber.

A movement by the kitchen doorway pulled his attention. Maggie stood there. Her blond hair in a ponytail. Her hazel eyes watchful. Her lips slightly curved in a sad smile.

He wanted to stay, but he had to go. Within two strides, he had her in his arms. Maybe he couldn’t convince her to go with him this time, but he’d keep trying. He kissed her lightly on her mouth before touching his lips to her forehead.

“Don’t forget me, Maggie.”

Back in New York that night, Brady stood alone in his apartment. Since he was early, no flowers warmed every room. However, the guest bedroom had begun its transformation. A soft lavender covered the walls and the old furniture was gone. Painter drop cloths were placed on the floor to protect the wood.

It remained an empty shell. Brady sighed and went to his bedroom to unpack. Maggie’s red silk scarf called to him. He dropped to the bed and pulled the silk into his hands. Though it seemed like the only living thing in the apartment, it wasn’t truly alive. That spark had come from Maggie.

His phone rang, breaking the silence.

“I’ll get the files from my backup drive,” Brady told Jules.

“I could have handled the meeting on my own.”

Maybe she could, maybe she couldn’t, but the fact of the matter was Brady had returned for just this purpose. To save his career and the job that consumed all his time.

“What time?”

“Nine.” Jules paused. “Are you okay, Brady?”

His sanitized white room stared back at him. the emptiness of his apartment mocked him. No Maggie. No Amber. Just him.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. See you then.” He disconnected the call. When he went to work in the morning, he’d fall into his routine and have barely any time to think about what he’d left behind in Tawnee Valley.

He downloaded the files from his home server for the meeting tomorrow. Reviewed his notes and what Jules had emailed him. Everything was ready for tomorrow’s meeting.

His apartment was empty. His life was empty. As he looked around, he wished he were in Tawnee Valley. Even the prospect of fighting for his project didn’t thrill him. He couldn’t imagine being here without Maggie and Amber. In a little over a week, they’d come to mean everything to him. But all he had left was his career. Maggie had made it clear that she did not want to move to New York.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t get Maggie out of his head as he lay in bed, trying for sleep. He’d offered marriage, but she’d turned him down. Because she loved him. His chest filled with warmth. He hadn’t had time to process her words before. Maggie Brown loved him. The sacrifices she made for her mother had been out of love. The sacrifices Sam had made had been out of love. And he’d expected her to follow him, sacrifice the life she’d built for herself and their daughter, because he wanted her with him. While he sacrificed nothing.

Brady pulled the red silk scarf through his fingers. How much more should everyone else sacrifice for him?

By the time exhaustion claimed him, his alarm clock went off. Even as tired as he was, Brady almost wished he had chores to do. Feeding the animals usually helped clear his head.

Instead, he rode the subway to his office and grabbed a coffee from the shop in the lobby. He needed a few days to settle back into his normal routine. Everything would return to normal.

Paperwork had piled up on his desk from last week. When his meeting alert went off, Brady was feeling mostly human. The coffee and the monotony of paperwork had helped.

Jules came around the corner as he left his office. Her dark green suit was the top-of-the-line businesswear, but it didn’t do anything for him. All he could think of were Maggie’s bare feet on the runner board of her bed.

“I’m glad I caught up with you before the meeting,” Jules said as they walked together toward Kyle’s office.

“I’ve recovered all the files. We should be able to reassure Kyle that the project isn’t leaking funds.” Brady kept pace, but couldn’t help remembering the slower walks with Amber and Maggie. Crisp autumn air and light conversation. Amber’s giggles ringing through the streets.

“I had a chance to look through the preliminary numbers for the Tawnee Valley project you sent me,” Jules said. “I think you might have something there. With a few tweaks, I bet we can get Kyle on board with the project.”

“That sounds good.” Brady paused outside Kyle’s door. He placed a hand on Jules’s sleeve to stop her from going in. “Do you think it’s possible to love someone and not know it?”

Her forehead wrinkled as her perfectly arched eyebrows pulled toward each other. “What do you mean?”

“Sorry. Just preoccupied.” Brady stepped aside for Jules to lead the way into Kyle’s office.

“Have a seat,” Kyle said.

The last time Brady had been in here he’d been focused on finding a way to make the project work and finding time to meet his daughter. On the far wall were portraits Brady hadn’t noticed before. They showed various poses and ages of Kyle with his wife and their two children. Staged photos meant to show a happy family.

Very few of the family photos in Maggie’s house had been staged with studio lighting.

“How did your visit with your family go, Brady?” Kyle regarded him with a piercing gaze.

“It went well. Very well.” Except for the part where Maggie didn’t want to live with him.

“Good. Jules, you had some problems to discuss.” Kyle leaned back in his chair.

“We were able to recover the files for the budget. I think you’ll be pleased with the calculations we’ve done. We’re scheduled to come in right on budget with the Detrex project.” Jules was all business, from her hair to her outfit to the way she carried herself. She had been everything Brady had thought he wanted.

“Peterson called to try to reschedule his meeting for this morning. Do you know anything about this?” Kyle looked at Brady first, but Brady turned to Jules.

“Given that Mr. Peterson grabbed my ass yesterday and suggested that the project would be back on track if I went out with him, my guess is he wanted to turn himself in on sexual harassment charges.” Her cool demeanor didn’t change.

“Why didn’t you tell me this happened?” Brady could have done something about it.

Jules turned her cool gaze to him. “I don’t need a protector, Brady. I can handle myself fine.”

She’d said that before, but all of Brady’s life he’d been taught to protect women. Now it seemed as if none of the women in his life needed him. Not Jules. Not Maggie.

“Those are some strong accusations. We take sexual harassment seriously in this organization. Would you be willing to report this in an incident report?” Kyle kept his gaze on Jules.

“Of course.”

“Do you mind if I call in Mr. Peterson?”

Jules crossed her arms. A smug little smile formed on her lips. “No, sir. I don’t mind at all.”

Within minutes, Peterson stood in the room as far away from Jules as possible. Both Brady and Kyle stared at the bruise on the man’s cheekbone. Brady resisted the urge to smile.

“Suspension without pay pending litigation.” Kyle didn’t seem unhappy to watch security escort Peterson grumbling from his office. When the door closed, Kyle addressed Jules, “It doesn’t have to go that far before we step in, Jules.”

She nodded. All this time, Brady had thought he was protecting her, but she could handle it on her own. Just like Maggie. It wouldn’t matter if Detrex succeeded because Maggie wouldn’t be there. If he wanted his family, maybe it was time to stop asking them to sacrifice for him and instead make some sacrifices of his own.

“I want off the Detrex project.” Surprised, Jules and Kyle faced him.

“Jules doesn’t need my help. She can handle the account and take the project where it needs to be.”

Jules flushed, but didn’t say anything. Kyle nodded his agreement, but Brady wasn’t finished yet.

“I want to talk to you about another project, though. If you have time,” Brady said.

“My ten o’clock just got escorted from the building. What were you thinking?”